Lionel Prewar #69 Crossing Bell Ringer...Question

@Harry Henning of Henning's Trains and @sharon.ottparts of Olsen's Toy Train Parts are places I start looking for prewar parts.

That bell assembly was purchased as a complete unit from a manufacturer in Germany by Lionel.  I have never seen parts for them.  Usually you can find a complete bell or a junker and use them as parts.  Most of the time it is just getting the contacts adjusted properly. If the coil is bad I think you are out of luck.  

Sometimes coils can be rewound. It's pretty reasonable though the wait is longer.

Thanks Guys for all the helpful replies.

I managed to get inside the coil (wire broke off on surface) and pull out some wire...inside winding.

I had to take off the insulation cap and reseal with epoxy.

So...I have it running and working, however, I get some ringing but more buzz than ring.  I have been adjusting the ringer arm with some success but I think there may be more adjustments I am not aware of.  It appears to be hitting just the one bell and not both when activated.

I know very little about prewar and have no idea how this little gem is suppose to sound.

Any extra comments on adjustments or any ideas appreciated.

This signal you get more buzz that bell. It does take some tinkering to get both bells to chime. About the only time you notice the 2nd bell is the brief moment the power is cut off and you can hear the reverberation.

Thanks Chuck

That is exactly what is happening...I hear the second bell after power is cut....that is the sound I'm looking for.

Given where I am now....is the tinkering with slight bends of the ringer arm the way to go?

Yes, Playing around with the striker arm you may get a slightly better sound. But don't expect too much.

Thanks Chuck and to all who replied...Thanks.  Appreciate the help.

Interesting to note what Dave said...I wondered why "Made in Germany" was stamped on the bell unit.

Just beginning to tinker with prewar...

This is how mine sounds on 18v. The coil only throws the little hammer in one direction so it relies on deflection to strike the bell on the left on the rebound . For this reason it helps to tweak the arm so the hammer is biased towards the left bell when in the idle state . The little screw on the side sets the "throw" by adjusting when the current to the coil is broken. You will notice that also moves the arm so it's a dance to get it right. 

I found it easier to tune it by adjusting the screw while the bell is ringing. You can tell if both bells are in play by touching them one at a time while it's ringing. If touching the bell has no affect on the sound it's not in play. I'm sure mine's not working perfect either. Chuck is right, it's closer to a "buzz" than a ring.

Many Thanks G Man for taking the time especially with the video.

That was very helpful !

Mine sounds just like yours does...at 10 volts.

At 18 volts I'm off the chart with buzzing.

I cannot seem to get the second bell to "ring" no matter how many tweaks I make to the striker arm.

Dave

Ha. Now you have me trying to tune mine to work better. I'm starting to think mine works better on lower voltage in the 14V range. I think one of the problems common to all of these is the contact points are worn or burned from years of use. I think originally the points probably had a very thin layer of silver coating on them. Once that wears or burns off it's never the same. You can clean them and it will work for a sort while but without the coating  they quickly oxidize or char again from arcing . 

Try backing the side screw out more to give the hammer more "throw". Take a peek with a penlight to make sure the points are aligned and touching while in the off position. 

I seem to be getting my best "striking position" as the pics show with decent bell sounds at 11 volts.  Not sure if it is the best I can get but after a LOT of tweaking that is where I am now and not too bad for sound.  Being a nut for a challenge....I will probably attempt more tweaks !  But wisdom tells me I should leave well enough alone with the progress I have made.... 

I also squeezed the bells by hand a little closer together.

Here is a sample from my collection.

Thanks Chuck....what do they say ....a picture (or vid) is worth a thousand words !

Very helpful.

Dave

Lionel Prewar #69

Here it is again at 10 Volts....you can hear the bells faintly.  Best I could get it.

Ya, those signals were about 90% buzz, 10% bell. I guess kids back in the 1920's weren't happy with them either!

How could you be happy when a telephone or your wind up alarm clock had much better bells?  

It seems that was designed to be "quiet"  vs alarm-like  

I have one of those bell signals and tried to make it better than a buzz, but failed. It is now on display and replaced with the modern MTH copy of this unit. Now the MTH version works great and looks good too.

@Adriatic posted:

How could you be happy when a telephone or your wind up alarm clock had much better bells?  

It seems that was designed to be "quiet"  vs alarm-like  

  

 

 

Yah and besides if it sounded like the old telephone bells back in the day mom and dad would keep trying to answer the phone every time junior played with his trains.

@N5CJonny posted:

Yah and besides if it sounded like the old telephone bells back in the day mom and dad would keep trying to answer the phone every time junior played with his trains.

Good one !  

Is the MTH one a full replica...using a coil as well?

The MTH version is a close copy, but strangely, it has one bell that is 'clipped' where the clapper would strike, so only one bell sounds. The second bell is a dummy.

Side by side view of MTH and old Lionel 69.

Interesting as Chuck said that only one bell is struck.  In  a way this would be similar to the prewar one as it also seems to hit one bell only or mostly so.

Did you take the MTH one apart to see how MTH managed to duplicate the 69 and what changes they made to get the results you spoke of ?

Thanks

@Soo Line posted:

Interesting as Chuck said that only one bell is struck.  In  a way this would be similar to the prewar one as it also seems to hit one bell only or mostly so.

Did you take the MTH one apart to see how MTH managed to duplicate the 69 and what changes they made to get the results you spoke of ?

Thanks

It may only hit one bell, but to me it sounds like two bells and is so much better sounding than a buzz.